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The Children’s Crusade was a series of non-violent demonstrations led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and James Bevel that occurred in Birmingham, Alabama in May of 1963 as an initiative of the Birmingham Campaign. This act of advocating for the Civil Rights movement turned the heads of Americans because of the involvement of the country's youngest citizens- the first time children had been involved in a protest like this. The plan was to desegregate Alabama businesses by persuading Birmingham civic and business leaders through picketing, boycotting, and protesting. African Americans leaders demanded justice and their children were utilized, bringing a new impact to the crusade, and ultimately helping to ensure a victory. Reverend Martin Luther King declared “I think it’s a mighty fine thing for children, what you’re doing because when you march, you’re really standing up; because a man can’t ride your back unless it is bent.”1 This moment not only changed American's views of the Civil Rights movement but also their view of the children. King wrote that the demonstrations allowed children to develop “a sense of their own stake in freedom.”1 This was one of the first instances that children were able to be viewed as assets, and almost seen as equals in the fight against bigotry.
Adults were hesitant to join the cause as a recent warrant had gone out providing grounds for mass arrest to any person involved in a protest. Children were seen to have “less to lose”, and were recruited and subsequently trained in the art of non-violence tactics.2 Thousands of elementary, middle, and high school students left their classrooms on May 2nd to march downtown, feeling a strong sense of empowerment. Police had no leniency with the children, as they arrested the students, set vicious dogs on them, and doused them with fire hoses. This incident made the news everywhere around the world, giving the masses a shock that they needed to see. “Pictures of the bravery and determination of the Birmingham children as they faced the brutal fire hoses and vicious police dogs were splashed on the front pages of newspapers all across America and helped turn the tide of public opinion in support of the civil-rights movement’s fight for justice,” says Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children’s Defense Fund.1 This usage of children to wage war with the “social norm” of the time not only ended segregation in downtown Birmingham stores but also helped push the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.3 Less then a month after the Children's Crusade ended, President John F. Kennedy broadcasted to the nation his plans to develop a cumulative civil rights bill in Congress.
1Joiner, Lottie. "How the Children of Birmingham Changed the Civil-Rights Movement." The Daily Beast. May 2, 2013. Accessed November 11, 2014. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/05/02/how-the-children-of-birmingham-changed-the-civil-rights-movement.html.
2"Children's Crusade." Martin Luther King Jr. and the Global Freedom Struggle. Accessed November 11, 2014. http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/index.php/encyclopedia/encyclopedia/enc_childrens_crusade/.
3Eskew, Glenn. "Birmingham Campaign of 1963." Encyclopedia of Alabama: Birmingham Campaign of 1963. September 20, 2007. Accessed December 4, 2014. http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/face/Article.jsp?id=h-1358.
Adults were hesitant to join the cause as a recent warrant had gone out providing grounds for mass arrest to any person involved in a protest. Children were seen to have “less to lose”, and were recruited and subsequently trained in the art of non-violence tactics.2 Thousands of elementary, middle, and high school students left their classrooms on May 2nd to march downtown, feeling a strong sense of empowerment. Police had no leniency with the children, as they arrested the students, set vicious dogs on them, and doused them with fire hoses. This incident made the news everywhere around the world, giving the masses a shock that they needed to see. “Pictures of the bravery and determination of the Birmingham children as they faced the brutal fire hoses and vicious police dogs were splashed on the front pages of newspapers all across America and helped turn the tide of public opinion in support of the civil-rights movement’s fight for justice,” says Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children’s Defense Fund.1 This usage of children to wage war with the “social norm” of the time not only ended segregation in downtown Birmingham stores but also helped push the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.3 Less then a month after the Children's Crusade ended, President John F. Kennedy broadcasted to the nation his plans to develop a cumulative civil rights bill in Congress.
1Joiner, Lottie. "How the Children of Birmingham Changed the Civil-Rights Movement." The Daily Beast. May 2, 2013. Accessed November 11, 2014. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/05/02/how-the-children-of-birmingham-changed-the-civil-rights-movement.html.
2"Children's Crusade." Martin Luther King Jr. and the Global Freedom Struggle. Accessed November 11, 2014. http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/index.php/encyclopedia/encyclopedia/enc_childrens_crusade/.
3Eskew, Glenn. "Birmingham Campaign of 1963." Encyclopedia of Alabama: Birmingham Campaign of 1963. September 20, 2007. Accessed December 4, 2014. http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/face/Article.jsp?id=h-1358.